Intractable front wheel screw

[bmweerman]

Ok..off the gate my fault. I got careless last time I put this together and stripped the hexhead out of the bolt.

 

Now it is time to change the tire. I thought no problem I'll just drill it and use a bolt extacator. That was a good Idea until the extractor broke off. So, ok I'll use the next size up...nope...the broken off piece is very hard.

I've drilled and ground on it now hoping to get some kind of bite with an extraction tool. (btw I bought new bolts)

 

It looks hideous and I'm about ready to bite a tank.

 

Any suggestions?

 

[ninermatt]

Try drilling it out from the back side? or dremmel a slot in it and try an impact driver?

[Ken H.]

A) Keep drilling. Sooner or later you get deep enough, and big enough you can get a bite on it.

 

B) Replace the lower fork ass'y with one from a salvage place.

[Haynes]

Taper a hex key on a bench grinder so that it jams in the hole with a hammer. choose a hex-key that you have a socket to fit so you can loosen it.

[KER]

Taper a hex key on a bench grinder so that it jams in the hole with a hammer. choose a hex-key that you have a socket to fit so you can loosen it.

 

i second that, with these bolts the hex heads strip off very easy, especially ones that are torqued on very tight. I usually use torx bits to remove all my bolts, the metal is soft enough that it will actually form around the torx bit and *hopefully* be able to remove the bolt with it. As Haynes recommend, taper the bit so it can wedge in it. Good Luck!

[Jim Moore]

I've had luck knocking the next biggest torx into a stripped hole like that. A friend mentioned glueing the next biggest torx into the hole with JB weld. I never had to do it, but the idea sounded interesting

[Ken H.]

C) Have you tried heating the lower fork to see if it will expand enough away from the bolt? 'course at this point your still going to need a way to turn it...

[CAD]

Some repair-shop / welder should be able to weld the hex-head tool / socket to the bolt.

[John Dickens]

I've had luck knocking the next biggest torx into a stripped hole like that. A friend mentioned glueing the next biggest torx into the hole with JB weld. I never had to do it, but the idea sounded interesting

 

Yes. A torx bit or a 12 point splined tool as used by Ford a while back. They cut a firmer grip than a hex wrench when you hammer them in.

[DavidEBSmith]

As a slight hijack, I pre-emptively replace those pinch bolts every few wheel changes because the hex heads always seem to get buggered up.

[KER]

maybe its time to break out the dremel and cut a slot in the bolt and use a big flat head. The bolt *if properly torqued with 22nm* shouldn't be that difficult to remove once you do that. Just make sure you wear down the cutting tool enough so you don't damage the surrounding metal. a brick works great to wear down the cutting discs.

[bmweerman]

The Final Solution...

 

Thanks to everybody for their input on this!

 

At the end of the day we ended up taking a very thin hacksaw blade a sawing the bolt in half through the split in the fork tube. The front part of the bolt literally jumped out. Then we backed the other half out with a reverse drill and a pair of pliers...luckily without damaging the threads.

 

 

 

As you can see there was a lot of corrosion. My buddy, the machine shop wizard, threatened me with bodily harm if I ever put one in again without anti-sieze.

 

So about those lug nuts.....